Beyond the Sharingan Eye
by Kamikazerae
Summary: Kakashi encounters multiple problems as he trains his Team 7 up to higher standards. His team learns more about his past and, well, the rest is perfectly improvisation! Read on to find out!
1. Chapter 1 Late Night Ramen

Chapter 1  
Late Night Ramen  
  
Kakashi removes his head band from his forehead and places it on his desk. His desk is unorganized, yet clean. There is the sound of a symphony of cicadas outside the window. Or perhaps, could it be a symphony of crickets? Kakashi ignores the sounds and heads to his small kitchen, which is tidy and seems untouched. There is dust, here and there, yet he does not feel bothered. He opens up the cupboard to find a cup of instant ramen, which he had bought only two days ago. He slowly takes it out of the still cupboard in one hand, and shuts the cupboard with the other. He opens the container and pulls out the packets of seasonings and other condiments, which he then slowly and easily tears open. He adds the contents of the packets into the cup, which had a block of uncooked noodle in it. The kettle, he remembered. There was no hot water to make soup. There was no hot water to cook the ramen.  
  
'Damn...'  
  
He leaves the cup of hard noodle and condiments on the kitchen table, and opens the bottom cupboard. There, he pulls out the kettle, which was an antique of his. It was a slow boiling kettle, which was given to him from an elder of the village. Kakashi remembers of that time when he was eighteen and left home to live on his own. The kettle was given to him from an elderly man, whom Kakashi had helped when he was still a young Chuunin ranked ninja. He was now a Jounin, and a very good one. He adds water into the kettle, and then places it onto the stove, which was greasy and unclean. Regardless of his living quarters, Kakashi lives in this very 'ragged-conditioned' flat easily and has a very simple lifestyle. To him, hygiene wasn't a big issue.  
  
The kettle gradually fills. And as if does, Kakashi wonders what will come of his Team 7. Somehow, the thought of Sasuke Uchiha led to more of Orochimaru. Water flows out of the kettle, just thinking of him. Kakashi switches the tap off and carefully pours out some water – he doesn't need so much water, anyway. He puts the kettle onto the stove and switches the gas on. He has time to wonder, but picks up the next volume of 'Come Come Paradise' and starts to read. On his desk, arranged according to volume, is a whole set of 'Come Come Paradise' novels. He had started collecting them since he had started living on his own in the flat.  
  
Kakashi pours the boiled water into the cup of uncooked ramen. He puts the kettle back onto the stove and pulls a drawer out to grab a pair of chopsticks. It's late. The clock shows the correct time – fifteen minutes to one in the morning. Kakashi holds the book in one hand, while eating his ramen. The plot just got more interesting as his supper slowly disappeared. Kakashi was careful not to get any of the soup onto the pages of his book.  
  
Suddenly, he stops eating the half empty cup of instant ramen and listens to something; a strange noise coming from outside his flat's door. It sounded like someone was coming. Kakashi continues to read his book. His cup of ramen sits in between him and the book, waiting for the moment. The moment.  
  
It actually happens! The naked woman found out that that school boy had been stalking her!  
  
The front door is busted open, and Kakashi doesn't move a glitch. A man dressed in a black cloak, wearing a mask stands at the door. Behind him, there are five other men, who looked like his henchmen held weapons in their hands. Kakashi drinks a bit of his soup and slowly stands up with his book in one hand, still reading.  
  
The naked woman in the forest is being kind to the young school boy, who was only 15 years old. He's been stalking her for days. 'One day, I will be yours...' 'But I am old enough! Please, let me go with you!' The naked woman pulls the young school boy closer and closer to her...  
  
Two men holding a kunai in their hands run towards Kakashi, who is still reading the book. They take no notice of the book in Kakashi's hand and take him on vigorously. Kakashi, who looks calm and cool, swiftly pulls out his kunai and spars the attacks from the two men.  
  
The naked woman pulls the young school boy closer and closer...  
Closer and closer...  
  
The two men try so hard to attack Kakashi, but neither one of them got an inch closer to him. The four other men stand at the door; three of the henchmen stand as still as the soup in the ramen cup.  
  
'You're disrupting the story. Tell me what you want and I'll let you all go as you came,' says Kakashi in a very cool voice. The two men stop, waiting for orders from the tall man in the black cloak. The man in the black cloak nods, and it's back to the two other men attacking Kakashi. 'Sigh... I warned you,' says Kakashi, who continues to read 'Come Come Paradise'. The two men run at Kakashi, holding their kunai in their hands.  
  
Closer and closer...  
  
The two men fall to the dusty floor. Dust arises as they hit the floor board. 'I should clean the place up, some time' says Kakashi, who still has his eyes on the book. Before anything else happens, he flips the page. He flips the page so quickly; all you could see was a blurred motion of the action. One of the henchmen sneezed as a reaction from the dust.  
  
The naked woman pulls the young school boy closer and closer; he then comes in to body contact with her naked body. It was cold, from the waterfall she was bathing in. She clings on to him and...  
  
The three last henchmen came after Kakashi, all at once. One of them throws two shurikens at Kakashi. Kakashi dodges the first shuriken, which hit his kitchen cupboard; the second was caught by him with his bare hands. He shakes his head, still reading 'Come Come Paradise', only slightly agitated. Still, he is not 'moved' by the unknown men's attacks and finds them very weak compared to other unknown assassins he defeated.  
  
'Coming at me like this is not going to sort out anything,' he says. He throws the shuriken he caught at the man in the black cloak, who seemed like these men's boss. The shuriken flies at a high speed towards the man in the black cloak. The three henchmen stop and watch the action. Kakashi's eyes leave the book, only to pay attention at his attack. The man in black dodges the fast flying shuriken, which continues flying till the end of the corridor. 'This man has incredible speed. He dodged my attack instantly and he seems so still and calm,' thinks Kakashi. 'What are you waiting for, you three? I'm getting bored already and I want to finish my ramen,' says Kakashi, who is getting sleepy.  
  
She clings on to him and her hands move around his body, searching for something. She brings her hands up to his head and lifts it, so she can get a good view of his face. He tried not to tremble, and only smiled in his head. He felt so lucky to be with such a beautiful woman, here, in the forest, by the waterfall. And more, she was completely naked...  
  
The three henchmen came running at Kakashi again, this time one at a time. The first one had a katana in his hand, but his attack was sparred. Kakashi kicked him up in the air, just enough so that he doesn't hit the ceiling (he doesn't want anyone to wake up). The henchman falls and is unconscious.  
  
And more, she was completely naked. The school boy looked into eyes of the beautiful and naked woman. Her eyes sparkled and shined. The naked woman brings the boy to the water, still wrapped around him. The school boy begins to take his shirt off...  
  
The second henchman tries to distract Kakashi, as the other one attempts to attack him from behind. Kakashi draws his kunai and spars the attack by the second henchman, then kicks him in the shin, breaking the man's leg. The second henchman falls and begins to cry in agony. The last henchman, who is behind Kakashi pulls out three shurikens and throws them all at Kakashi in a blow. Kakashi dodges all of them wit ease.  
  
The school boy begins to take his shirt off...  
Take his shirt off and...  
  
Kakashi sighs, closes the book reluctantly and says, 'The feel of the book has gone because of you. You disrupted my supper.' He looks at the last henchman, who was behind him, dead in the eye. The henchman trembles and starts to shake in fear of Kakashi's Sharingan eye. 'It ends here,' says Kakashi. The henchman was struck with more fear, as the Sharingan eye grew larger. Kakashi begins to bring his arms up, as he is going to do a jutsu. Before Kakashi's hands met, the henchman runs around him, pass the man in the black cloak and out the door. He was crying.  
  
Kakashi closes his eyes and has his back facing the man in the black cloak. 'That was rather easy,' he says with a smirk. 'Now, what business do you have with me?' He walks over to his desk and picks up the head band, which bore the symbol of the Konoha Village ninjas – the leaf. He puts it on and covers his Sharingan eye, then opens his eyes and faces the mysterious man in black. Kakashi is now face to face with the unknown man – his face is covered by the cloak, which seemed a little too big for the man. The man was about Kakashi's height, but slightly shorter. And the man was also much bigger than Kakashi, in size. Kakashi gives a lazy sigh and says, 'I was quite happy eating my instant ramen and reading my book, until you guys came along. What is so important that needs my attention from my favourite book and instant ramen?'  
  
The man sniggers under his over-sized cloak. 'You have improved, Hatake Kakashi,' he says, in a dark, yet surprised tone. Kakashi puts his hands in his pockets and says nothing to the mysterious man. 'That voice... It sounds so familiar.' The man begins to snigger again, then turns around and starts to walk out the door. 'Kakashi, I know you can do better than that... I hope to see that in my next visit,' the man says, as he walks out of Kakashi's wrecked flat. Kakashi watches him leave, then looks down at the floor. There is a dried, brown leaf lying before his feet. 'Hmm...' he says, as he picks it up and observes it. He nods once as a confirmation, then walks to the broken door. The door had been removed from the hinges on the wall. 'I'll fix this up another time.' He picks the door up and leans it against the wall, where it should've been. Kakashi's flat was now in a terrible state. He carries the bodies of the four lower assassins out of his flat and lays them on the ground, outside the building. Kakashi then collects the shurikens and kunais left in his flat and puts them in a corner, where there are other ninja weapons.  
  
Kakashi sighs heavily as he looks at his flat from the kitchen. It looks better than before. He looks at his cup ramen, which was still on the table, uneaten. Suddenly, Kakashi's tummy growls in hunger. He laughs a bit, and then leaves the cold cup of ramen – only to open a new one. He was glad that he had left the kettle on the stove. He was glad he didn't finish the 'Come Come Paradise' volume.  
  
His supper was about to begin. 


	2. Chapter 2 The Slow Tuesday Morning

Chapter 2  
The Slow Tuesday Morning  
  
The morning is young, and so was the air of that very Tuesday. The birds sang cheerfully; the village people started to emerge from their cosy homes. A new day had begun, and so it was good to get up to catch the fresh morning air. Some of the villagers get up as early as now for work. They never miss the young and fresh morning. The air is still rather chilly, and there is a light and calm breeze coming from the east.  
  
Sakura slowly opens her eyes to the early morning. She lazily gets out of bed and stretches. She faces her desk, which is neat and organized. At a corner of the desk, there is a framed photograph of herself with Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and their sensei, Hatake Kakashi. She smiles at the thought of her team; especially at the thought of Sasuke, who she admires so much. Then she looks at Naruto – her face turns slightly sour, yet determined. 'Naruto-kun... I envy your strength,' she thinks to herself. Sakura remembers the moments when Naruto was being the cockiest. Then she remembers the moments when his cockiness gave him strength and will power. To believe consistently in yourself and in something so unbelievable can give you strength to achieve those beliefs, she thinks. She nods to the thought, and gets up to get dressed and ready for the day.  
  
As Sakura is getting ready, Sasuke is already up and wondering the streets of Konoha. He walks down the street, head down, his hands in his pockets and at a slow and steady pace. Birds fly over the awakened village and the wind has calmed. Stalls were now open and some still in that process. Sasuke thinks of training up before meeting up with the rest. The thought of the 'rest' spreads a smirk on his face. Sasuke, who is still walking down the street, heads for the forest, where he usually trains at. As he walks out of the village on reaches the outside of the forest, which is nearby a river, he hears footsteps from behind. Was someone following him? Sasuke walks on, knowing that he was being followed. 'I'll keep walking and see if this guy keeps following,' thinks Sasuke. He grins and begins to plot ahead. The footsteps become faster and faster. Sasuke keeps his walking pace and grins. He reaches for his kunai in his pouch; slowly reaching down to pull it out...  
  
Kakashi was long awake. He sits at the Jounin centre, reading 'Come Come Paradise', where Asuma smokes away beside him. 'Hey, Asuma, don't you ever get sick of those?' says Kakashi in a cool voice, still reading the porn novel. Asuma laughs and says, 'Hey, Kakashi, don't you ever get sick of "those"?' He points at Kakashi's book. 'OK, fair enough,' Kakashi replies. Kakashi sighs and stands up from the bench. Asuma looks up at him and smiles, 'Going for a walk?' Kakashi doesn't say anything, but nods. Asuma blows out the smoke in his mouth and grins. He says to himself, 'As always, Kakashi.' Kakashi walks out of the Jounin centre and walks down the streets of the village. 'I should visit them...' he thinks to himself, as he walks towards the forest.  
  
All Sasuke had to do was flip the pouch open to draw his kunai. Instead, he keeps walking and grins at the ignorance he could smell from the stalker. 'Oi! Konohamaru! Wait up!' 'Gik...' Sasuke stops and relaxes his hands and himself. He turns around and finds his stalker to be little Konohamaru, who was dressed in his usual clothing – a cape around him, a fake ninja head band and the familiar looking goggles. Sasuke recognises the goggles and knew the kid as Naruto's little friend. Sasuke grins at Konohamaru, who looked shocked, but disappointed. Behind Konohamaru were his two friends, running and shouting at him. They, too, as Sasuke observed, were wearing similar clothes to the one facing him. They, too, as he observed, were wearing goggles. All those goggles were exactly like Naruto's. Sasuke stares into Konohamaru's eyes. Konohamaru, who looked worried, tried to stare back without looking hesitant. 'Hey! Konohamaru! Did you catch him?!' they shout, as they slow down the pace as they reach Sasuke and Konohamaru. They looked exhausted from running. Sasuke then thought that they weren't supposed to be here and that Konohamaru didn't want them to follow him. 'Hmph,' says Sasuke, who grins at Konohamaru, turns around and walks away from them. Konohamaru is shocked to see the great Sasuke turn away from him. 'H-Hey! Come back! I'm not through with you yet!' he shouts at Sasuke, ignoring his two friends' presence. Sasuke, who was walking away from them as cool as a cat, refused to turn around and starts to laugh. 'But I am,' he replies. Konohamaru looks disappointed. He was hoping to be friends with him. Sasuke is now roughly twenty miles away from the three kids. Konohamaru doesn't think and runs after Sasuke. He stops and catches a breath. 'Well, just because you're so strong,' says Konohamaru, who was panting, trying to catch his breath. Sasuke grins away, as Konohamaru continues, 'Doesn't mean I'm not good enough to talk to you!' Sasuke suddenly stops. Konohamaru stares at him, hoping for a bit of cooperation. Sasuke turns around and stares at Konohamaru, who had a very determined face. Konohamaru's friends were far behind him, just watching him looking shocked. Sasuke looks into his eyes. 'What does this kid want?' he thinks. Konohamaru glares back at Sasuke, who suddenly looked slightly hesitant.  
  
Sakura walks out of her house, to find the stalls all up and ready. She looks to her left and sees a ramen restaurant. There were people there, but not anyone she would've expected to see. 'That's odd. Naruto should be there. He's always there on Tuesday mornings,' she says to herself, looking around the ramen restaurant. Outside the restaurant, there was a sign board. It read: TUESDAY SPECIAL! BARBEQUE PORK RAMEN! TUESDAY SPECIAL! 'Where the hell is this Naruto?' she whispers to herself, looking at the sign board. She walks over to the restaurant, looking for signs of Naruto's presence there. The man behind the counter recognises Sakura's face, as Naruto's friend and team mate. 'Good morning! Can I help you?' he says. 'Yes. Err... Have you seen Naruto around here this morning?' asks Sakura. She leans on the counter, to smell the barbeque pork being cooked. It smelled delicious, as Naruto would comment during every Tuesday lunch break. The man behind the counter looks down as he thinks, and then gives a slight grin, which quickly turned to a frown. He looks back at Sakura, who was looking at the lady behind the counter cooking the barbeque pork. 'Oh my goodness! Those barbeque pork slices look SO GOOD!' said her 'inside' self. 'No, sorry. I haven't seen him around here since last night,' said the man behind the counter. Sakura snaps out of a small trance and says, 'Strange... He's usually here every Tuesday morning.' 'Yes, I know. It's like a weekly tradition, really,' he replies. They both sigh. 'WOW! I can hear the meat sizzling in the pan! WE GOTTA HAVE SOME OF THIS!' says her 'inside' self. Sakura grabs a seat at the counter and says, 'I'll have the Tuesday special, please?' The man behind the counter smiles at her and says, 'Right away!' 'YES! YES! YESSSSS! MUAHAHAHA, NARUTO! I'm gonna have the special before you do!' says her hungry 'inner' self.  
  
The forest seemed very peaceful and still. Though, the trees swayed from side to side. The breeze was just right – nice and cool. Kakashi stands before a huge rock, which was a memorial for those who had died in the line of duty as a ninja. The flat surface of the rock was engraved with the names of those ninjas. Kakashi scans the list, and finds one particular and familiar name. He looks up at the sky and wonders. There were birds flying over the forest; some singing, some playing and some just soaring in the air. 'Sigh...' He looks back at the stone and remembers his past. 'It's been a while,' he thinks to himself. His mind starts to throw flashbacks at Kakashi; flashbacks, he doesn't really want to remember. Flashbacks of his past only brought him down in regrets, but pulled him up in strength. Kakashi couldn't let his team down, just like he did before. He thinks of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura; the only team that passed the test to becoming his students. He smiles and walks away from the memorial. 'I will not let my team down... Again,' he thinks. 'Sigh, right. Better get back to the village. The others should be awake by now.' Kakashi slowly walks away from the memorial and heads up to his usual training ground. His hands are in his pockets and he looks up to the clear sky.  
  
Konohamaru tries to keep up with Sasuke's strength by keeping strong eye contact. He remembers a time when he saw Sasuke's power and compared him to Naruto. The difference was big, by the looks of it. 'Naruto's in trouble,' he says. Sasuke's face lightened on Konohamaru, which gave Konohamaru a sign of relief and permission to carry on. 'I don't know what's wrong with him, so I thought I'd find you or the red haired girl to help,' says the hesitant Konohamaru. His two friends walk up to his side and nod in agreement. Sasuke nods and says, 'Right, take me to him.' Konohamaru leads Sasuke and his two other friends into the forest.  
  
The trees of the forest hover above the below, where the smaller plants are trying to reach for the sun. There are dapples of sunlight on the ground, as the leaves only allow so little light in. The trees act as a high canopy, protecting the body of Naruto, who was leaning against a dead stump beneath. He seemed to be unconscious. It was last night that knocked him out for good. He had too much fun at the ramen restaurant, where he had ten bowls of ramen. That wasn't it though. The man behind the counter had offered Naruto some hot sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. Naruto, being the mischievous and daring boy around, accepted the drink and finished it all in a go. After he had finished ten bowls of ramen and a few shots of hot sake, he had walked home drunkenly. As you know, drunken people sometimes lose their mind and are usually in a state of confusion and dizziness. Naruto stumbled into the forest and left Konoha without a trace. Now, this morning, he sleeps there under a canopy of large trees, against a dead stump. Suddenly, somewhere in the bushes, there's a rustling sound. A man walks out from the darkness and sees Naruto, heavily unconscious. The silhouette of the man grows larger and clearer as he moves closer to Naruto. The man was tall and seemed to be wearing a hooded cloak. The hooded man pulls a kunai out from his slightly oversized cloak.  
  
Outside the town of Konohamaru and through the forest, there is a desert- like place with deep valleys and cliffs. It was the perfect training spot, as Kakashi knew. He always trained there. Kakashi was there, hanging from a ledge of a steep cliff. He had one hand on the ledge and his other behind his back. Kakashi slowly concentrates a reasonably good amount of chakra to his hand on the ledge, and then lifts his heavy self up. His hand quick moves up to grab the next ledge. This exercise was straining, but it was an excellent technique to control chakra. Before Kakashi could make it to the next ledge above him, he sensed something. His eyes widened, and sensed danger in the forest. 'Naruto,' he says. He jumped off the cliff's face without hesitation and quickly did a technique in midair. Suddenly, out of nowhere, leaves started to surround him and there was a small gust of air moving around him. Kakashi disappears into thin air, and the leaves fall from the sky to the bottom of the valley.  
  
Sasuke runs after the hurried Konohamaru through the forest, which was getting darker and darker. They were suddenly running under the very same canopy of trees that protected the still unconscious Naruto. 'He's here, somewhere!' shouts Konohamaru to Sasuke, who was easily keeping up with the little boy. Konohamaru's two friends were far behind Sasuke. Sasuke abruptly stopped and called out to Konohamaru. 'Hey! Stop,' he shouts. He holds up his palm to Konohamaru, who stopped immediately and turned to Sasuke. 'What is it?' says Konohamaru, panting heavily. 'Shh...' Sasuke says quietly, holding up his other palm behind him, getting Konohamaru's two other friends to stop. Sasuke looks around the very still forest and observes the environment. 'He's no further than here. I can sense Kakashi- sensei's presence here...' he thinks to himself. 'What would he be doing here, in a place like this? Something must be up. Someone must be in danger.' Konohamaru starts to get impatient and before he says something, Sasuke says, 'Naruto, he's in danger.' Sasuke jumps to the trees on his right and starts leaping away towards Naruto's direction. Konohamaru and his two friends try to follow, but lose sight of the swift Sasuke.  
  
'BURP!' Sakura finished her second bowl of barbeque pork special ramen and pulls out some money from her frog shaped purse. 'Thank you, sir,' she says to the owner of the restaurant, who was smiling pleasingly at her. 'HEHEHE! NARUTO-KUN! I HAVE NOW HAD TWO TUESDAY SPECIALS!' said her inner self. Sakura slowly walks out of the stall and moves down the street of the busy morning Konoha. 'That was one of the best meals I've ever had...' she murmurs to herself as she looks up to the sky. There were two eagles flying up there, chasing each other around happily. 'Hmm... Sasuke-kun, why do I think of you during the strangest times?' she wonders.  
  
The cloaked man was now clearly visible. He had a white mask with red marks on it, and it looked like a cat. He brings up the kunai to his chest, as he moves closer and closer to Naruto. Naruto was still unconscious, but he was twitching a little. Suddenly, there was a loud rustle in the bushes behind the cloaked man. He turns around and looks towards the direction of the noise. He waits for something to come out, and only finds a rabbit. As the man turns his head back to Naruto, a gust of wind gathers leaves a fair distance away from Naruto. The man quickly turns his head to that direction and only sees a small gust of wind with leaves swirling around in it. He keeps his eyes on it, being as observative.  
  
'It's over.'  
  
The cloaked man turns around to the direction of the voice and sees none other than...  
  
TO BE CONTINUED! 


	3. Chapter 3 A Hurried Memory

Chapter 3

A Hurried Memory

----------------------------------

'It's over.'

The cloaked man turns around to the direction of the voice and sees none other than Kakashi. The leaves around Kakashi settle down as the small gust of wind surrounding him fades away. Kakashi, looking as cool as always, with his hands in his pockets, gazes into the depths of the cloaked man's eyes in the mask, trying to catch something… Something…

The unidentified man quietly sniggers behind his mask, as the leaves around Kakashi finally meet the earthy ground. 'Kakashi-sensei!' shouts the masked man, who lifts his hands in the air in gesture. 'We finally meet again…' he continues.

Without rotating his head, Kakashi turns his eyes to watch on Naruto, who still lies asleep on the ground, leaning on the tree. Before any suspected pre-emptive strikes, Kakashi slowly draws his kunai out from his pouch and holds it in a defensive manner. He looks back at the masked man, now looking at the unconscious Naruto. 'Look at him,' the masked man says. 'He still looks hopeless when he's asleep!' Kakashi steps forward to the masked man and says, 'What business do you have here?' The masked man is roughly 3 metres away from Kakashi, and holds a threat to him. Kakashi feels this and carefully thinks out a plan to get Naruto out of the woods.

'My business is you,' the masked man continues. 'Hatake Kakashi.'

Kakashi's eyebrows show little disappointment. 'Why is this man here?' he wonders. 'What does he want from me, if he holds such a threat to the sleeping Naruto?'

'I have come here for you, Kakashi-sensei,' says the masked man.

'Most important of all,' Kakashi thinks to himself, 'who IS he?'

Nanoseconds was all it took for the masked man to put his kunai back into his pouch. Kakashi is stunned at the speed the man had performed just then.

'No… it couldn't be,' thought Kakashi, as he sifted through all his past memories, pin-pointing a suspected person who may be this masked man.

The masked man sniggers. 'Kakashi-sensei, you haven't changed one bit!' he says. 'You're still the old and deep thinking person I've always known for years!'

The breeze was getting colder by the moment, and the blue sky started to turn grey. The trees started to rustle as they swayed in a confused motion. The breeze turned into a strong wind, which now came from more than one direction.

In the near distance, Sasuke stops to the scent of something, that didn't smell like the woods. It didn't smell like the environment, which was weird. 'Naruto is close,' he says to himself. Hurriedly, he lifts off into the air, slightly above the ground, and runs to the scent, which grew stronger and stronger.

The wind was lovely and the skies were clear and blue as Sakura walked through Konoha. The Tuesday Special meal at the ramen restaurant did her good. Still looking for her team mates, she decides to go to the jounin hangout, where she might find Kakashi-sensei. 'This better not be a trick,' she moans to herself. Before she gets to the hangout, she sees Konohamaru and his friends walking glumly towards her. 'Isn't that…'she wonders as she squints to take a closer look.

'I can't BELIEVE Sasuke ditched me!' whined the pouting Konohamaru. His two other friends sighed together. 'I can't believe YOU ditched us…' one of them said, pouting as well. 'Well I was SO close to him letting me be his friend!' continued Konohamaru.

Sakura, only metres away from the trio, overheard them whine. 'Sasuke…' she thought to herself.

'Hey! You there!' said Sakura, as she pointed at the girl beside Konohamaru. The girl flinched and looked at Sakura, and worriedly said, 'M-me?'

'Sasuke… ditched the kid…' wondered Sakura, as she suddenly drifted into deep thought. 'What on Earth was he doing?' she asked herself. Assuming there was trouble, Sakura scanned the three kids in a rush and to the little girl, she replied, 'Yes! You!' The girl flinched again at Sakura's rushed and frightening voice. Sakura pulled the little girl aside and kneeled down to speak to her. 'What is this you speak of? Where is Sasuke? What happened?' Sakura said, as she lightly grabbed the little girl's shoulders.

The masked man holds his hands up and performs a hand seal. Kakashi couldn't believe the speed at which the man had moved. The speed reminded him of someone he knew long ago, but who it was just couldn't come to mind. 'Such speed,' thought Kakashi, as he watched the masked man carefully. 'Is so rare,' he continued to think.

Naruto, still asleep, shifted a little as the area got colder and colder.

His cloak was still as the wind blew stronger and stronger against the masked man. Kakashi tried to stay strong against the wind and kept an eye on the masked man, who still held his hand seal. The sky got darker and darker and the trees were moving wildly. 'Naruto…' Kakashi thought, as he worried for his health. He might end up with a cold, or possibly even worst if this keeps up.

The masked man performs a jutsu. His hand movements were so fast, Kakashi couldn't read the hand seals. Hesitating, Kakashi changes his stance to a more defensive one – he holds his kunai up, unsteadily, at the masked man. 'Gik, the wind is too strong…' thought Kakashi, who began to worry. 'The wind… his hand movements,' he continued. 'Such speed…'

A dark and sinister laugh fills the cold air, as the masked man clones himself into enough to surround the uncomfortable Kakashi, sleeping Naruto and himself.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realises that the man had cast 'Bunshin no jutsu', a cloning technique. 'Just like old times, huh Kakashi-sensei!' the masked man shouts, over the windy and cold air. Still, Kakashi says nothing but thinks – who is this man? What does he want from him? How does he perform techniques with such incredible speed? 'This man is no ordinary ninja,' thought Kakashi, as he looked around at all the men, masked and cloaked – stationary – not moving. Suddenly, the men disappear. Kakashi feels the illusionary clones (or, perhaps the user?) move at high speed around him. Without trying to hesitate, he looks around, watching Naruto and his own back. The men stop, surrounding Kakashi and Naruto, a perfect circle of beings. 'Great, who is the real user now?' wondered Kakashi.

The sky around Sasuke started to grow darker, and the wind turned colder. 'Something's wrong,' he thought, as he stopped for a second to observe the environment. 'It's changed…' The weird scent was no longer sensed, and Sasuke was suddenly in lost thought. 'Damn… where is he??!' he said to himself with frustration.

Konohamaru and his friend watched Sakura talk to the little girl. 'Geez, girls these days are so fussy!' grumbled Konohamaru's friend, who folded his arms and reluctantly watched the two girls at the side of the walkway. As his friend grumbled on about girls, Konohamaru wondered what they were talking about. 'Hey!' he shouted at Sakura, tugging at her shirt. Sakura, annoyed, turned around and glared at him. 'What is it?' she said. 'Oh my God this KID better get OUT of my way,' said her innerself, which was bursting with flames because she wasn't getting any answers out of the little girl. 'You're Sasuke's team mate, aren't you?' asked Konohamaru, as he lightened his face out. At that moment, Sakura knew that she had been talking to the wrong kid. It was this chubby looking kid who resembled Naruto so much, who knew about Sasuke and what had happened. 'Yes… are you going to tell me something then?' Sakura asked, with a pleasant and sorry looking smile.

Kakashi was stuck - stuck in thought. The wind was blowing stronger than before and it was freezing. Naruto had moved into a curled up position – still, he remained asleep. One of the clones said, 'Hahaha, Kakashi-sensei, do you know what you're doing?' Another one shouted out, 'No! As always! We've out-smartened the great one-eyed Sharingan master himself!' The person behind Kakashi said, 'Kakashi-sensei, you're weaker than before…' Kakashi rotates his head slightly, just enough to watch the close back at the corner of his eye. 'Or have I just gotten stronger, sensei!' shouted another.

Deep in thought, Kakashi quickly rushed through his memories, trying to remember a person… A name… Someone who had high potential at speed, who he has witnessed perform like the masked man.

The memory struck him. It was him. The kid he knew long before. Oh it has got to be him. Who else could it be otherwise? Kakashi shut his eyes for a moment, and smiled. The wind was cold, but started to slow down. He abandoned the defensive stance and stood slightly relaxed, but aware of the threatening situation he was in. Kakashi opened his eyes, smiling – he laughed, softly. One of the clones said, 'Hah! You dare laugh at such a moment!' 'How brave!' said another.

Kakashi looked up at the darkened sky and smiled. He said, 'There's no need to wear that mask… now that I know you…'

I can't believe it's him.

TO BE CONTINUED.


End file.
